by Chris Chase, USA TODAY Sports

by Chris Chase, USA TODAY Sports

The world's oldest marathoner completed his last race on Sunday at age 101, crossing the finish line in the Hong Kong marathon's 10-kilometer race and retiring after 13 years of competitive running.

Fauja Singh took up the sport at age 89 as a way to cope with the deaths of his wife and son. He initially took part in the sprints but was convinced to try longer runs after receiving encouragement from training partners. When he saw a marathon on television, Singh took up the race.

He ran his first marathon in 2000 and completed eight more, finishing with the 2011 Toronto Marathon. That should have put him in the books as the oldest person to ever complete the 26.2-mile race, but Guinness didn't acknowledge the record because Singh's date of birth on his passport (April 1, 1911) wasn't considered valid. He needed a government-issued birth certificate, which India did not provide at the time.